DEV2011: Lecture 17 summary

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School

Monash University

Department

Medicine

Course

DEV2011

Professor

Various

Semester

Spring

Description

LECTURE 17
Neural Crest Cells:
Neural crest cells are a transient, multipotent, migratory cell population unique
to vertebrates that gives rise to a diverse cell lineage including melanocytes,
craniofacial cartilage and bone, smooth muscle, peripheral and enteric neurons
and glia.
After gastrulation, neural crest cells are specified at the border of the neural
plate and the non-neural ectoderm. During neurulation, the borders of the neural
plate, also known as the neural folds, converge at the dorsal midline to form the
neural tube. Subsequently, neural crest cells from the roof plate of the neural
tube undergo an epithelial to mesenchymal transition, delaminating from the
neuroepithelium and migrating through the periphery where they differentiate
into varied cell types. The emergence of neural crest was important in vertebrate
evolution because many of its structural derivatives are defining features of the
vertebrate clade.
Migration of Neural Crest Cells:
Masses of tissue called the neural crest that are located at the very edges of the
lateral plates of the folding neural tube separate from the neural tube and
migrate to become a variety of different but important cells.
Neural crest cells will migrate through the embryo and will give rise to several
cell populations, including pigment cells and the cells of the peripheral nervous
system.
Cell Lineages of Neural Crest Cells:
Neural crest cells originating from different positions along the anterior-
posterior axis develop into various tissues. These